Eppie and Mario
by Shakespeare Nerd
Summary: This is a modern-day parable of the Eponine-Marius relationship in Les Miserables. Eponine is "Eppie", Marius is "Mario", and Cosette is "Cass".
1. Me and Mario

_I'll do anything for you?_

"Eppie," Mario waved his hand in front of me with a silly grin on his face, "Are you alive?"

I giggled, "I think so."

His laughter joined mine in a song, "That's a relief. You're staring me down, you know."

"Oh."

_Aren't I always?_

I tried to divert his attention by saying, "Whatcha writing?"

"Oh, nothing," he doodled a random line around his paper.

"It's never nothing," I smiled at him knowingly.

He reached over and squeezed my hand. My heart flew for a second.

Mario is, by far, my best friend. I never really had a better one, actually. I mean, I've had my share of good friends, but as soon as I met Mario, he became my world.

It was the seventh grade when I first met him. I was new in town; I'd just moved from New York City to the small Canadian suburb of Georgetown. My father had lost a lot of money and we had to move out of the city. My first day was a disaster. I tried to be confident and I tried to make friends, but most of the girls were so snobby. The only person I met was Sophie Stein, an "activist", as she referred to herself, who invited me to eat lunch with her. I was glad for that, considering no one else would talk to me. By lunch, Sophie had explained all of the snobby girls- Abigail, Manny and Lynsie- to me and told me about some of the more accepting groups at our school. I was listening intently until I saw him. I cannot, in English words, adequately describe how hard my heart was pounding in the moment Mario came and sat with us. Of course, Sophie knew this god and quickly introduced me, but I couldn't talk to him for three days without stuttering.

Sophie called it a schoolgirl crush and told me not to demean myself, so I said nothing of my feelings after that first day. Yet with each passing day, they grew. He became my only reason for going to school. I talked to him all the time and eventually, we became friends. After a while, nothing else seemed important. I never saw Sophie anymore. She was trivial.

Mario was an incredible writer. He could turn anything into tragic prose. But he was naïve in a way, too. He thought he knew so much about the world, but he never saw what was right in front of his face.

Today, we sat in history class. He doodled something on a bit of paper and I watched him with that dreamy stare he would never notice. To the right of me sat Abigail Ashenbahler, the most popular girl in school. She was hanging sluttishly on the arm of her dimwit boyfriend, Jeremy, not to mention hanging on to every word that came out of his slow drawl. Behind me sat Javen Cartesian, who Mario liked to call, "the tortured soul". Javen was scribbling something to- probably some sort of plot for revenge against the cruel world. Suddenly, the bell rang. As we filed slowly out of the classroom, Jeremy shoved Javen into a locker. Abigail cackled as they walked away. Only Sophie rushed to help him up.

"Insane," Mario shook his head at Javen. As we left he said, "Why does everyone hate him?"

I shrugged. It reminded me of a girl I knew in New York when I was in kindergarten. Cassandra Cole. I remembered her only too well. Cassandra was so pretty, and I was incurably jealous of her. Since I was the most popular girl in my class (I still treasure this, even though it was in kindergarten) I beat up on her for it. I led the entire class in teasing her. I still feel slightly guilty about it sometimes, especially since I realize now that Cassandra had been abused. It was all too obvious. She came in one day with a huge blue bruise on her shin that she said had come from falling down the stairs, and two days later she was gone. Various classmates mentioned her in later years. Some swore her parents had murdered her. Others said Social Services whisked her away. As children, we weren't allowed the information.

"So," Mario said, "Tomorrow's Friday, thank goodness."

I smiled as we got on the bus to go home.

"Yes, thank goodness. Did you want to do something tomorrow? You know- see a movie or something?"

Mario nodded, "That would be nice."

We sat down and agreed to see _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_. Mario loved the novel and had wanted to see the new film for quite some time. I watched the glee appear in his face, and- it was irresistible- I reached out and touched his curly brown hair. It seemed to sync with his deep blue eyes, which were like oceans just waiting for you to drowning in their unpredictable depth. He hypnotized me.

"I like the way you wear your hair," I grinned, cocking my head to one side.

He laughed, his face getting a little red, "Oh, Eppie. Stop teasing me."

"I do!" I faced him and looked straight into his eyes, "It's perfect. You should never change it."

He rolled his eyes, smiling. It thrilled me that I'd made him blush, even a little.

Mario looked out the window, "It's raining."

"Wow, it is," I agreed, as if I'd just noticed this, too.

"I like the rain, but it makes me kind of depressed once in a while," he remarked, "Watching the rain slide down the window is like watching tears sliding down someone's face."

I reached my hand out to touch his face, thinking, _I would never let tears slide down your face._

"But when you're with someone, rain is beautiful. I mean, can you imagine it, Eppie?" he turned to me as I pulled my hand back, "Walking through the rain, holding the hand of somebody you really, really love…" he gazed back into the rain dreamily, "It would just… glorify everything."

I turned the other way, a tear falling down my face like rain sliding down a window.


	2. Cass

As much as it hurt, I dried my tears before Mario saw me, and soon it was my turn to get off the bus. I hugged him goodbye, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and hopped off before slipping right into the gutter. I heard the laughter on the bus behind me, so I looked back. Mario wasn't laughing; he looked concerned. That was a relief! I waved him off and trudged into my apartment building.

I was still soaking wet when I entered my apartment. My 9-year-old brother Gavin was sprawled across the floor, trying to light a fire in the fireplace, while my 6-year-old sister Hazel watched intently from the sofa, amused. A look of ridiculous determination crossed Gavin's face as I took the lighter from his hand.

"Let me do it," I commanded.

"I can do it!" Gavin grabbed the lighter stubbornly.

I sighed, burying my face in my hands as he finally lit the fire.

"Happy now?" I half-teased. I then looked over at Hazel, who was studying me closely.

"Eppie," she said in complete 6-year-old seriousness, "You're wet."

"Really? Can't believe it," I said sarcastically, standing up with my hands on my hips, "Guys, where's Mom?"

"Lola across the hall gave her fifty bucks to show her some… 'tricks'." Hazel informed me. I wonder if she knew what that meant.

"'Tricks'?" I repeated, baffled. I shook my head, "I don't want to know."

Gavin let out a laugh as I shut the door to my room. I sat on my bed, hugging my soaking-wet knees to my chest. I knew my squeaky sneakers would make marks on my blanket, but it was pretty dirty anyway. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. After a while, I pulled my diary out from under my pillow and flipped through it, seeing the name "Mario" about a thousand times. I threw it to the end of my bed, but it fell open to one particular page. I picked it up again, reading the entry.

_If you could only see it!_

_Mario, how can you not see it? Strangers see it in me! They see you and me together, and they know what's going on. You're supposed to be enlightened or something; well, why can't you figure it out? I just wish you could feel it for once. I wish you could feel the flight… the ecstasy… mixed with a heartache and a hell. But it's a feeling you'll never know, isn't it? You'll never feel it! And I'll know it all too well… forever._

I let out a loud cry.

Suddenly, Hazel burst into my room.

"Eppie, you hag!" she accused, "Could you try to maybe shut the hell up?"

I stared after her as she slammed the door. My baby sister had sworn me out. My brother was sitting playing with lighters in the other room. My mom was across the street teaching the sad old lady something that had to do with alcohol or sex. And I had no idea where my dad was. Probably completely wasted, impregnating countless other women. He'd done it before. My family had stopped caring. Family… if you could call it that. _I wish Mario were my family, _I thought to myself, _More than anything on earth._

It was getting dark. I wrapped my arms around myself and closed my eyes.

_If only…_

The next day, there was a new girl in my science class. Her name was Cass.

"Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?" the science teacher, Mr. Lisbon, asked.

Cass spoke in a voice sweet as honey, "Well, I'm 15."

_Yes, we gathered that, _I thought to myself. I wasn't watching her. I was writing a horrible poem.

"I… I guess I should say I'm adopted," Cass stated.

That caught my attention, and I looked up at her, curious.

This Cass was beautiful; I would be a fool to deny it. There was a familiar look about her, but I wouldn't have been able to recall it. She had long, deep brown hair and immense blue eyes with long eyelashes. Her clothes were really very nice; she wore a flowing navy skirt and a matching sweater. Even her shoes, which were platforms, were the same color. Her bag was stuffed full of books, and yet she carried more in her arms. I could see the top one's title- _The Hunchback of Notre Dame._

"I've lived in New Jersey since I was seven," Cass continued, "My foster parents became my legal guardians when I was nine. They're such wonderful people," her eyes lit up. Did I know her? "Really. That sounds conceited, but I'm grateful. So grateful." She smiled at her feet shyly, "That's really the most interesting thing about me. I love to write… and daydream."

The class laughed, but they laughed with her, and not at her. They didn't laugh like they had when I fell in the gutter.

The science teacher motioned for Cass to take a seat, and we continued with the Periodic Table.

"Now, Cass," he queried, probably just to be showy, "Might you be able to name the noble gases?"

Cass made a face as if this were a trick question, "Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon, Radon?"

The entire class clapped!

When the bell finally rang to go to our next class, I waltzed outside to find Mario waiting for me.

"Hi!" I said, thrilled, rustling his hair.

"Hey, Eppieboppers," he smiled at me. He couldn't have looked sweeter.

"So, are we still on for that movie tonight?" I said, flirting as much as usual.

"Of cou- whoa…"

I turned to see what Mario was staring at.

Cass.

The new girl.

She was trying to shove another book into her bag. Somehow, she managed to do this gracefully enough to captivate Mario. Once she finally had it in, she looked up- right into Mario's ocean eyes. And I saw that dreamy smile that he never saw me give him.

"Who's that?" Mario asked me, utterly enthralled.

"Um," I tugged Mario's arm, "We're going to miss the bus."

But Mario walked right past me, as though he were hypnotized, to go and talk to her. I felt hot tears sting my eyes as I watched them eyeing each other. Her dreamy gaze escalated into a grin that spread across her perfect complexion. She was so _pretty_. And suddenly I saw it.

Cass was Cassandra Cole.


	3. A Walk in the Rain

A/N: How do I say this maturely? I am so so so so so so so so so so so sorry for not updating. What can I say… writer's block! I hope this chapter is okay. Thank you all so much for waiting. I love you guys.

How couldn't I have seen it?

Cassandra's unforgettable young face had stuck with me through the ages, just until I needed to remember it. When I looked at her now, in what seemed to be slow-motion, I could still make out those scarlet lips with that Shirley Temple pout, the unbelievably thick brown hair, and the same enchanting, but no longer haunted, blue eyes. And then I turned to face Mario, but he was different- someone I no longer knew. His own captivating ocean eyes had melted at the sight of her and become useless puddles, taken hostage by that _smile _of hers. I froze. Maybe that's why Mario had never seen _me_- because whenever I talked to him, I became a useless blob.

"Mario," I practically shouted, "Time to go."

Mario continued to stare after her. Her gaze didn't falter, either. Eventually, I jerked his arm roughly.

_"Ow!" _he rubbed his arm, "Eppie!"

"Sorry," I said, and I was.

Once he was recovered, Mario looked back as if to see Cass again.

"Who was that?" he asked, mesmerized.

I felt tears forming in my eyes. "I don't know," I lied.

"She was so…"

"Pretty?" I finished, "Entrancing? Perfect? Unbelievable…?"

"All of the above," he remarked, still looking behind him, not noticing the glare of contempt I wore so desperately.

We got onto the bus again. Mario seemed to be in a daze. I was in tears. They silently rolled down my face; I didn't make a sound. He didn't notice. I wasn't surprised. I knew what this kind of love was like.

It was raining again. It was the kind of rain that could morph your mood; putting the cynical into deep depression and the optimistic into a wet wonderland. I felt cynical today as I stepped off the bus. Mario gave a distracted wave as his only response to my departure. After I left, I saw him pull out a notebook and begin scribbling. The bus splashed water on me as it pulled away, making everything seem more dismal, if that were possible.

Hazel and Gavin were running around the apartment building when I got there. They both stopped to look at me, as I was once again soaking wet. After a moment, Gavin burst out laughing, and soon Hazel joined him.

"Thanks, thanks," I said sarcastically, moving past them to my bedroom. As soon as I shut the door, I heard them start running again.

"Stop running; you'll upset the neighbors downstairs!" I shouted. They didn't listen.

It didn't take long for more tears to start falling, and this time, I didn't hold back.

It was a long night full of crying and then imagination and make-believe; once again just pretending he was _mine. _But in the end, wishing and imagining didn't get me anywhere. I was still by myself, crying.

I didn't sleep, and at about 4 in the morning I realized that I wasn't going to and groggily flopped out of bed. I wondered what I was going to do until the rest of the world woke up, but it didn't take me long to think of something. I grabbed my jacket, which was the only thing that I had taken off since the afternoon, and crept out of the apartment building.

I was careful not to wake my brother or sister, who had both conked out on the couch in front of some cartoon. My mother was less likely to wake up, as she had probably only come home about an hour before. And my father… well, I didn't know where he was, so it probably didn't matter. I took a key and dropped it into my jeans pocket, and finally slipped out the door, out of the building, and onto the dark, shiny wet street.

It was so cold, but I was used to it. There was always a rainy season in Georgetown. I skipped quietly along the walk, feeling the breeze upon my cheeks. Soon the rain started up again, and I spun around in it, catching it on my tongue, drowning in its unpredictable sweetness. I became someone I didn't know, someone who didn't think about boys she could never attain or family problems she could never fix. I lost Eppie in that rainfall. I turned into someone different, someone worthy. Maybe even someone that Mario could love. And I began to sing. I didn't even know what song it was, but I never wanted it to end.

Eventually, I reached my destination. Even in the dark, I could make it out. Mario's house, on the quiet little cul-de-sac a mile away from my apartment building. Without realizing what I was doing, I lay down in front of it, letting my cheeks freeze on the cold concrete, wanting to lie in front of his house forever.

Then I saw a light.

I sprung up quickly. What if his dad or mom saw me out here? "Mario, honey, who's the freaky little girl lying in front of the house?"

The light was from the room I knew as the study. Mario's father was a literature professor and his mother was an ethobotanist, and they both spent a lot of time in it. I ducked hurriedly behind one of Mario's mother's perfect bushes and watched the light. Before long, someone… _opened the window?_

It was raining, but someone had thrust the window open and stuck their head out. I squinted to see who. And then I realized that it was, in fact, Mario himself. I gaped, and, before I lost him, dashed to the front of the house to wave at him.

"Mario!"

He looked down and saw me, clearly as surprised to see me as I was to see him.

"Eppie! What on earth…?"

I laughed, but Mario made a hushing gesture, and then another for me to… _come up._

My heart skipped a beat as I took hold of the tallest tree in the yard and began to climb. A verse repeated itself in my mind… _the things we do for love. _It wasn't really for love. Mario just wanted to know what the hell I was doing here. But I climbed anyway as if he'd asked me to marry him, and finally I was able to slip slyly onto the roof and into the window.

Mario closed it soon after my squishy sneakers entered the house.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, "What are you even doing _up?_"

I opened my mouth to say something, but realized I couldn't really explain, "I… uh… I'm an insomniac, you see, Mario. And I… well, couldn't sleep."

Mario nodded, wanting me to go on.

"So, I… uh… took a walk. And I saw your window open. And… here we are."

He put a hand to his head, "You're something else, Eppie. You are."

I kind of giggled and tousled his hair, "Why, thank you."

He laughed, "Stop teasing."

I noticed the spread-out papers on his desk, "So… why are you up?"

"Oh," he nodded toward the desk, "I'm writing… something."

"About what?" I wanted to seem intelligent and interested.

"About… that girl."

"Oh." I wanted to tell him. I had to. "Listen, Mario, I know who she is."

Mario's face lit up like Christmas. It broke my heart, "Who?"

"Her name is… Cass. And she's in my science class."

"Cass…" he repeated it to himself, practically dancing, "Cass, Cass, Cass." He turned to me, "You know that… goddess?"  
I nodded quickly, eager to impress, "We're practically friends. I could give her a letter from you, if you like."

Mario's mouth fell open, _"Really?"_

I nodded again.

"Eppie… thank you! Thank you so…" he suddenly hugged me and kissed my cheek.

My heart flew for a second, "I love you…"

"What?" he pulled away.

I felt my face get hot, "I mean… I love you when you're like this, Mario! So romantic!" I giggled and ruffled his hair again.

Mario laughed, but then looked out the window, "Ep, it's sunrise… you should get home, don't you think?"  
"Oh!" I looked outside, "Yeah… I guess!"

He gave me one last hug. I practically screamed with joy as I climbed out of the window and danced home.


End file.
